Pakistan's dismal election turnout signals a rejection of the failed politics of the past

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Tuesday, 19 February 2008

Unofficial election results in Pakistan show that the opposition parties led by the PPP and PML-N have swept to victory pushing the "president's party" the PML-Q into a humiliating third position, retaining only 38 of their 118 seats in the National Assembly. With counting ongoing, it appears that the PPP and PML-N have gained 87 and 67 seats in the National Assembly respectively, opening the door for alliances and coalitions to occur in the struggle to form a government with a clear majority.

However, one aspect of the elections is abundantly clear, that the voter turn out was extremely low, possibly as low as 30% and at best 40%, despite a huge security operation to prevent the intimidation of voters or attacks upon polling stations.

What this tells us is that the vast majority of Pakistanis do not believe that democracy offers them a solution to the woes afflicting their country, as one might believe from the coverage of events in the western media. The Pakistani people have come to realise from bitter experience that the cycle of military dictatorship and corrupt democratic civilian governments has brought little progress to the country during its short existence but has rather entrenched division, poverty and humiliation to the majority of the nation.

The poor voter turnout at such a high profile national election amidst a wave of sympathy for Benazir Bhutto is a damning indictment of the proponents of democracy in Pakistan and their western supporters who still believe that a system devoid of the heritage of the Muslims of the Asian subcontinent can really ever hold sway over its people. The time is fast approaching where the Pakistani Muslims will bring about the return of Islam in the shape of the Khilafah, a system the Muslims believe in and that will re-unite them as it did in the past. It is only the Khilafah that can truly offer Pakistan a chance to end the cycle of injustice, poverty and subservience to foreign powers that has characterised its short history.

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Irfan Bhatti: The reality on the ground, not in the news article...

I think you should dig deeper into the causes of the lack of support for the MMA rather than just read a newspaper article and conclude the people don't want Islam. The lack of support for the MMA from the people was NOT DUE TO Islam it was rather due to some of the following factors:

1. The people's distrust of the MMA due to the assistance it gave America in murdering its own civilians by allowing American weapons trucks and supplies to pass through its territories.
2. The silence of the MMA over the attacks against the Muslims in it regions including Bajaur and Waziristan because of the Seventeenth Amendment. This ammendment also legitimised the brutal aggression of America in Afghanistan.
3. The silence over the U turn on the Kashmir policy as well as handing over 500 Muslims to America.
4. The unfulfilled political promises that this party gave to the people and hence the people felt let down and lied to.
5. The frustration of the physical fighting initiated by America in the region that is causing misery to the people who have to live their daily lives there.

As you can see it is because of the betrayal of Islam and the Muslims that the people did not trust the MMA anymore. Therefore this does not demonstrate that Islamic rule has been ushered out, this is just a biased opinion and conclusion.

Another point is that you were very selective of the article which you pasted. I searched for the article and found that you selectively picked 6 paragraphs out of the 26 paragraphs that were in the article. As well as this, you missed out paragraphs, such as:

"But also there was a perception that they(the MMA) were low-income people when they came to power, but later on became rich," he said.

Hence the perception of corruption amongst the MMA was also a reason for the resentment of the MMA. The problem with the MMA is that people have seen them to use Islam as a tool to gain political power. Due to this perceived insincerity, they lost confidence in the MMA and hence the MMA lost support.

Therefore, I think the low turnout does reflect the people's loss of confidence in Democracy. They have tried it but it just doesn't work. Only Islam will bring stability to the country and a system that solves the problems of the people. This is what the Muslims of Pakistan want so why not let them have it?

Also, be careful of your terminology. The word Islamist has been coined deliberately in a general way to curb legitimate objection to the aggressive, colonialist interference of America and Britain in the Muslim countries. This label is being applied to all and sundry who oppose American or Britsh Foreign Policy, even if the opposition is by peaceful political work. There are people calling for a Caliphate(Khilafah) IN THE ISLAMIC COUNTRIES who are using peaceful political means yet they are being labelled Islamists. Don't confuse the call for change via peaceful political means with the call for change via violent means.

February 22, 2008 - 14:33:01
Votes: +0

Yasir: re:Lou Stouch comment

Mullah's who participate within the Pakistani democratic system are seen as being more corrupt then the other politicians as they use the name of Islam for their corruption.

The people not only of Pakistan but the Muslim world in general have come to realise the corruption stems from the system and no matter how sincere any indevidual seems they too get effected by it. Hence no confidence in the system.

30% turnout says alot!.

February 22, 2008 - 14:23:47
Votes: +0

Haseeb: Pakistan Election Results

There are a number of reasons why the 'Islamist' parties did not do so well:

1. A significant portion of the MMA , e.g. its main backbone Jamaat Islami, did not participate at all in the elections (they boycotted it, along with Imran Khans Tehreek-e-Insaf)) and hence the Awami Party (Pushtun nationalists) and their PPP allies stepped in, and made significant gains in NWFP.(North West Frontier Province).

2. People perceieved that the JUI (the one party of the MMA that did participate) had previously cut deals, in 2002, with Musharraf thereby prolonging his dictatorial rule, and hence there was a groundswell of anger against anyone who was seen to have been in the Musharraf camp.

The lesson from this, is not that the people have turned away from Islam, rather it is that particpating in the corrupt political system of Pakistan will not achieve any real change, but will simply prolong one cycle after the other of corrupt civillian and/or military rule, for example we now have a colaition govt between a previous corrupt and nepotistic PM (Nawaz Sharif) and Asif Zardari of the PP, who was known as 'Mr 10 percent' during the tenure of his wife, the late Benazir Bhutto as PM, so what has changed? Nothing, except a re-hash of the same old faces.

Indeed, it is the system itself that is flawed and must be overhauled so that the correct and comprehensive Islamic solution, i.e. the Khilafah can be implemented, only then will we see real change and progress in Pakistan and indeed the wider Muslim world.

February 22, 2008 - 14:16:08
Votes: +0

Imran: wrong,wrong,right actually.

I don't know why outside observers use the 'official' tainted Islamists as a yardstick for Islam and Islamic rule, be this states like Saudi Arabia, Iran et al or so called hard line organisations-who time and time again pick and choose which aspects of Islam suit them.
Muslims don't want these backward,tribal types to rule our affairs.
What we want is a return to true Islam, which is never analysed/critiqued in a rational way in intellectual circles, rather reference is always given to the dimwits who have little or distorted knowledge of Islamic ruling as the benchmarks.

I think one thousand years of history is ample proof. So how about a fair and open discussion about the merits of the respective systems instead of smearing and labelling. If muslims believe in something so backward and barbaric, surely in an intellectual exchange our detractors will have ample opportunity to expose any weakness in our ideology.

Tell me who are the ones who are looting,murdering,forcing their beliefs on others. I think the last few centuries and several continents,ooh -clue- lets see perhaps the ones that the europeans colonised,bear testimony to which civilisation is not worthy of the name.

Funny how there are so many non muslims living in lands once ruled by the Islamic state.

February 22, 2008 - 12:00:53
Votes: +0

Lou Stouch: Wrong Wrong Wrong

What it signals is massive losses for the Islamists, nimrods - check this:
Pakistan: Islamic Rule Ushered out With Celebrations....

Peshawar, Pakistan - Celebratory gunfire and dancing in the streets greeted heavy election losses on Tuesday by Pakistan's main alliance of Islamic parties in a key province bordering Afghanistan.

The alliance lost many seats in Monday's parliamentary elections, according to unofficial results.

After winning control of North West Frontier Province five years ago, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance was the third-largest grouping in the previous national parliament with more than 50 seats.

But it had won just three seats in unofficial preliminary results announced by state-run television.

Residents in the provincial capital Peshawar welcomed the setback for the mullahs with gunfire and street celebrations. Some expressed hatred of the Islamists and called them hypocrites.

In one constituency, up to 4 000 people gathered early to celebrate the victory of Arbab Alamgir Khan, from the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

February 21, 2008 - 03:16:37
Votes: +0

Irfan Bhatti: Changing the miserable future of Pakistan by establishing the Khilafah...

This vicious cycle and farce of corrupt military dictator followed by corrupt civilian ruler is Pakistan's past, present and future. These rulers will always serve the interests of foreign nations such as America and Britain and in return they will receive their bank balance top-ups.

These leaders will work hard to weaken Pakistan by selling off every asset that makes them self-reliant(whilst also obtaining commissions from these sales!!!), give away land to foreign military bases and intelligence agencies, murder their own citizens, Muslim men, women and children at the request of America and Britain, whilst also ensuring that Muslims never rise to account them and call for justice.

Oh Muslim brothers and sisters, what makes you think these rulers will work for the benefit of the Muslims and Islam? Islam is not the basis as to why these people became politicians and rulers. Work for the implementation of Islam ie the Khilafah. Just look at the detailed policies Islam has and how it can solve our economic problems as well as the other societal issues. If we want to change Pakistan's miserable present and future, we have to change the system and also the ruler at the same time.

February 19, 2008 - 19:31:45
Votes: +0

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